The Development of Slavery in Colonial America
Slavery became a fundamental institution in colonial British North America, though its development varied across regions. All British colonies participated in the Atlantic slave trade to some degree, responding to abundant available land, growing European consumer demand for colonial goods, and a decreasing supply of indentured servants. The first Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619, and by the late 1600s, a significant shift occurred from reliance on white indentured servitude to racial slavery.
This transition accelerated after events like Bacon's Rebellion (1676), as colonial elites sought a labor force they considered easier to control. As European demand for tobacco, rice, sugar, and other colonial products grew, so did the demand for enslaved labor to produce these goods.
Regional Patterns of Slavery
All British colonies participated in slavery, though the extent and nature of the institution varied significantly by region:
New England Colonies
- Small New England farms used relatively few enslaved laborers due to shorter growing seasons and crops requiring less intensive labor
- Enslaved population typically comprised only about 3% of the total population
- All port cities held significant minorities of enslaved people (up to 25% in cities like Boston)
- Urban enslaved people typically worked as domestic servants, dockworkers, and in maritime trades
Middle Colonies
- New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware all participated in the slave trade
- Port cities like Philadelphia and New York held significant minorities of enslaved people
- Diverse economy created varied roles for enslaved workers in both urban and rural settings
- European demand for grain exports indirectly supported the system of slavery
Chesapeake Colonies
The tobacco plantations of Virginia and Maryland drove the development of slavery in this region:
- Tobacco cultivation for European markets required extensive labor
- Declining availability of European servants led planters to turn increasingly to enslaved Africans
- By the early 18th century, chattel slavery became the dominant labor system in the region
- Large numbers of enslaved workers maintained the tobacco economy
Southern Atlantic Colonies
The southernmost British colonies developed plantation systems with the largest concentrations of enslaved people:
- South Carolina and Georgia developed plantation economies centered on rice and indigo for European markets
- These labor-intensive crops required large workforces of enslaved people
- By the mid-18th century, enslaved Africans constituted the majority of the population in these areas
- Harsh conditions in rice cultivation resulted in high mortality rates
West Indies Connection
Though not part of the mainland colonies, the West Indies played a crucial role in shaping slavery in North America:
- The great majority of enslaved Africans transported in the Atlantic slave trade were sent to the British West Indies
- Labor practices and legal codes governing slavery often developed first in the West Indies and were later adapted in mainland colonies
- Trade networks connected the West Indies to mainland colonies, creating economic interdependence
The Transatlantic Slave Trade
The Atlantic slave trade brought millions of enslaved Africans to the Americas, though only a fraction of the total went to British North America:
- West African regions supplied most captives to the British colonies
- The Middle Passage (the journey across the Atlantic) was characterized by inhumane conditions
- European demand for colonial goods drove the expansion of the slave trade
- Different African regions supplied captives, bringing diverse cultural backgrounds to the colonies
🎥Watch: AP US History - The Impact of Slavery on Colonial America
The Evolution of Chattel Slavery
As chattel slavery became the dominant labor system in many southern colonies, new laws created a strict racial system:
- Colonial legislatures defined enslaved Africans as property (chattel) rather than persons
- Laws made slavery hereditary through the mother's status, meaning children born to enslaved women were automatically enslaved
- Legal codes prohibited interracial relationships, especially between white women and Black men
- Descendants of African American mothers were defined as Black and enslaved in perpetuity
- Free Blacks faced growing legal restrictions, reinforcing a racial hierarchy
These legal developments created a system of racial slavery that:
- Linked slavery permanently to African ancestry
- Established slavery as a permanent, inheritable condition
- Justified enslavement based on perceived racial differences
Resistance and Cultural Persistence
Despite the oppressive system of slavery, enslaved Africans actively resisted and maintained their cultural identity.
Overt Resistance
Africans developed various forms of direct resistance against their enslavement:
- Physical rebellions, such as the Stono Rebellion in South Carolina (1739)
- Escape attempts, including formation of maroon communities in remote areas
- Destruction of property, tools, or crops as forms of economic sabotage
Cultural Resistance and Adaptation:
Enslaved people maintained their culture and religion as forms of resistance:
- African religions blended with Christianity, preserving African spiritual traditions
- Traditional music, dance, storytelling, and art were maintained and adapted
- African linguistic patterns influenced the development of distinctive speech patterns
- Food traditions and medicinal knowledge preserved aspects of African cultures
Family and Gender Systems
Enslaved people fought to maintain family bonds and gender roles despite the system's attempts to break them:
- Created and maintained family structures despite lack of legal recognition
- Preserved traditional gender roles and relationships when possible
- Developed extended kinship networks that could survive family separations
- Established naming practices that preserved family connections across generations
- Created community support systems for raising children and supporting each other
These various forms of resistance helped enslaved people maintain their humanity and dignity in a system designed to deny both, while preserving cultural traditions that would endure across generations.
Vocabulary
The following words are mentioned explicitly in the College Board Course and Exam Description for this topic.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Atlantic slave trade | The transatlantic commercial system in which enslaved Africans were forcibly transported to the Americas to provide labor for colonial economies. |
| British West Indies | British colonies in the Caribbean that developed plantation economies based on staple crop production and enslaved African labor. |
| chattel slavery | A system of slavery in which enslaved people were treated as property that could be bought, sold, and inherited, becoming the dominant labor system in southern colonies. |
| covert resistance | Hidden or indirect forms of resistance to slavery that were not openly visible. |
| family systems | The structures and relationships within enslaved families that people worked to preserve despite slavery's attempts to separate them. |
| gender systems | The social roles and relationships between men and women that enslaved people maintained within their communities. |
| indentured servants | Laborers who agreed to work for a set period in exchange for passage to the colonies, initially used extensively in the Chesapeake region. |
| overt resistance | Direct, open forms of resistance to slavery that were visible and confrontational. |
| plantation systems | Large-scale agricultural enterprises in the Chesapeake and southern Atlantic coast that relied heavily on enslaved African labor to produce cash crops. |
| racial system | A legal and social hierarchy based on race that defined status and rights, including laws prohibiting interracial relationships and enslaving the descendants of African American mothers. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is chattel slavery and how was it different from other types of slavery?
Chattel slavery = a system where people are legally treated as personal property: they’re bought, sold, owned for life, and their children automatically inherit that status. In the British colonies this became the dominant model in the Chesapeake and southern Atlantic coast; laws (slave codes) racialized the system, made status hereditary, prohibited interracial unions, and removed legal rights from enslaved Africans and their descendants (CED KC-2.2.II.B). How it differed: unlike indentured servitude (temporary, contract-based) or many African forms of servitude (which could be kin-based, debt-related, or allow social mobility), chattel slavery was permanent, racialized, and enforced by colony laws. That legal permanence shaped plantation economies, resistance strategies (runaways, maroon communities, Stono Rebellion), and culture (Gullah)—stuff AP prompts often ask you to explain. For a clear topic review see the Topic 2.6 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
Why did all the British colonies use enslaved people if some had small farms?
Because slavery was part of a broad Atlantic system and met different economic needs across regions, all British colonies used enslaved people—just not in the same numbers or ways. The CED notes an abundance of land, growing European demand for colonial goods, and a shortage of indentured servants drove participation in the Atlantic slave trade. In the Chesapeake and Southern Atlantic coast the plantation system (tobacco, rice, indigo) required large numbers of enslaved workers and led to chattel slavery and slave codes. In New England and on small farms, owners used relatively few enslaved people for household work or mixed farming. Port cities held significant enslaved minorities, and the majority of Africans were sent to the West Indies. For AP exam prep, focus on causes (labor needs, land, indentured-servant decline) and effects (regional labor systems, racialized slave codes) as Learning Objective F expects. Review Topic 2.6 on Fiveable (study guide: https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
How did slavery in New England compare to slavery in the Chesapeake and southern colonies?
Slavery varied by region. In New England it was smaller-scale: few enslaved people worked on family farms, in households, or in port cities where they were a significant minority. The economy didn’t rely on large plantations, so chattel slavery was less dominant. In the Chesapeake and southern Atlantic coast slavery was central—large tobacco, rice, and indigo plantations used many enslaved workers under a plantation system and increasingly strict slave codes that racialized bondage (e.g., Virginia slave laws). Work systems also differed: the South used gang labor on plantations, while some rice regions used the task system and fostered distinct cultures (Gullah). Across regions enslaved people resisted—both overtly (Stono Rebellion, running away) and covertly (maintaining families, religion, maroon communities). For AP prep, know causes/effects and resistance (CED LOs F and G). For a focused review see the Topic 2.6 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
What were the new laws that created the strict racial system in the southern colonies?
Southern colonies passed a series of "slave codes" that turned labor into racial, hereditary chattel slavery. Key laws included Virginia’s 1705 codes and similar statutes elsewhere that: 1) made status hereditary by race (partus sequitur ventrem—children follow the mother’s status), 2) banned interracial marriage and sexual relations, 3) restricted movement, assembly, firearms, and legal rights for enslaved people, 4) limited manumission and legal recourse, and 5) criminalized teaching enslaved people to read. These codes hardened a strict racial hierarchy and responded to events like the Stono Rebellion (1739) by tightening controls. For APUSH, use terms from the CED—slave codes, chattel slavery, hereditary status—and explain causes (labor needs, declining indentured servitude) and effects (racialized social order, resistance like maroon communities/Gullah culture). Review Topic 2.6 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history) to prep for short-answer and DBQ connections.
I'm confused about why the West Indies got most of the enslaved Africans but we always talk about slavery in the American colonies
Good question—both are true. Most enslaved Africans were sent to the sugar plantations of the Caribbean (the West Indies) because sugar production needed huge, continuous labor forces and had very high death rates, so planters imported far more people. The British North American colonies also participated in the Atlantic slave trade, but in smaller absolute numbers: New England used fewer enslaved people, port cities had significant minorities, and the Chesapeake and Southern Atlantic coast developed large plantation systems with chattel slavery and slave codes (e.g., Virginia Slave Codes). We focus on slavery in the American colonies because it shaped U.S. law, politics, economy, and culture long-term—think slave codes, forced labor systems, resistance (Stono Rebellion, maroon communities), and cultural legacies like Gullah. For AP exam prep, make sure you can explain causes/effects of slavery in each region and how enslaved people resisted (CED LO F and G). For this topic study guide see (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and for more unit review/practice go to (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2) and (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
Why did the British colonies need so many enslaved workers when they had indentured servants?
Indentured servitude couldn’t meet the huge, year-round labor needs of plantation economies. Early on indentured servants (usually Europeans) worked temporarily and then earned freedom—so planters faced a recurring labor shortage as servants claimed land or moved away. Chesapeake and Southern plantation crops (tobacco, rice, indigo, then cotton) required intensive, skilled, continuous labor and large, stable workforces; disease and high mortality made long-term investment in a perpetual labor supply attractive. African chattel slavery solved that: enslaved people were forced for life, their status inherited (per slave codes), and laws hardened a racial system that made slavery cheaper and legally entrenched. The Atlantic slave trade and Caribbean demand also funneled large numbers to southern colonies (CED KC-2.2.II.A/B). For AP prep, be ready to explain these economic causes and legal/racial effects (Topic 2.6). Review the Topic 2.6 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
What does it mean that descendants of African American mothers were "enslaved in perpetuity"?
It means that the law treated slavery as hereditary: children born to enslaved African American mothers were legally considered enslaved for their entire lives—and their children would be too. Colonial slave codes (based on the principle partus sequitur ventrem) tied legal status to the mother’s condition, so status “followed the womb.” That made slavery chattel slavery: people were property, racialized by law, and there was no automatic freedom by birth. Colonies then passed laws banning interracial relationships and tightening race-based rules, creating a rigid, lifelong system that shaped family, labor, and resistance patterns. This change is exactly what AP CED Topic 2.6 highlights under chattel slavery and slave codes—know this for short-answer/LEQ/DBQ connections about causes, laws, and enslaved peoples’ responses (see the Topic 2.6 study guide at Fiveable: https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf and more practice problems at https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
How did enslaved people resist slavery without getting caught or killed?
Enslaved people used lots of covert strategies to resist while lowering the chance of violent punishment. Common tactics included working slowly or “putting one foot down,” breaking tools or crops, feigning illness, and stealing small items—everyday sabotage that reduced productivity but was hard to prove. They also preserved culture and community (family ties, religion, Gullah traditions, songs) to maintain morale and quiet solidarity. Some ran away short-term to visit kin or to avoid brutal masters; others formed maroon communities in swamps/mountains for longer-term freedom (maroon communities). Skilled enslaved workers used bargaining power or bought freedom (manumission petitions). Overt revolts like the Stono Rebellion were rarer because of deadly risk, so the CED emphasizes both overt and covert resistance (LO G). For a quick topical review, see the Topic 2.6 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
What were the overt and covert ways that Africans maintained their culture and families under slavery?
Overt resistance and cultural maintenance: enslaved Africans formed families (even under laws in KC-2.2.II.B), practiced religion (often blending Christianity with African beliefs), created kin networks and informal marriages, negotiated for manumission or better conditions, and sometimes staged rebellions like the Stono Rebellion or ran away to join maroon communities. Covert strategies: preserving language, music, folktales, and foodways (e.g., Gullah culture); subtle work slowdowns, tool breaking, and feigning illness; teaching children African-derived skills and beliefs; and using the task system in some regions to secure time for cultural life. These tactics helped maintain family/gender systems and community identity despite chattel slavery’s legal constraints (KC-2.2.II.C). For more detail tied to the CED and exam prep, see the Topic 2.6 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
Can someone explain the connection between the Atlantic slave trade and the shortage of indentured servants?
Short answer: as colonial plantations (especially in the Chesapeake and the southern Atlantic coast) expanded, demand for reliable, year-round labor grew. Early on, white indentured servants provided that labor, but by the late 1600s fewer Europeans agreed to indentures (improving conditions at home, higher wages in England, and risks of long Atlantic voyages), so planters faced a labor shortage. At the same time the transatlantic (Atlantic) slave trade made African laborers more available and, for planters, more economically attractive—enslaved people were treated as chattel and provided lifelong, inheritable labor. That shift helped turn labor systems toward chattel slavery and produced slave codes that racialized labor (CED: Atlantic slave trade, indentured servants, chattel slavery, plantation system, Chesapeake). For more on Topic 2.6, see the Fiveable study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history)—use these for DBQ/LEQ evidence and examples.
How do I write a DBQ essay about the causes and effects of slavery in different British colonial regions?
Start your DBQ with a clear thesis that compares causes and effects of slavery across regions (Chesapeake, Southern Atlantic/Deep South, New England/ports, West Indies). Contextualize briefly: Atlantic slave trade, demand for colonial goods, shortage of indentured servants (CED KC-2.2.II.A). Use at least four documents to support claims and bring in one piece of outside evidence (e.g., Stono Rebellion, Virginia slave codes, or the rise of plantation tobacco/rice). Explain POV/purpose for two documents (CED DBQ sourcing requirement). Organize body paragraphs by region: causes (land abundance, cash crops, labor shortages, transatlantic trade) and effects (chattel slavery, slave codes like Virginia’s, racialized laws KC-2.2.II.B, different labor systems—task vs. gang—and resistance: maroon communities, Gullah culture, manumission, revolts KC-2.2.II.C). End by showing complexity (similar economic motives but different social/legal outcomes). For examples and practice, see the Topic 2.6 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and try practice DBQs at Fiveable (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
What was the difference between how port cities used enslaved people versus plantation systems?
Port cities used enslaved people differently than plantation systems. In port cities (urban slavery) enslaved Africans were fewer, worked as dockworkers, artisans, household servants, or skilled laborers—so they had more varied tasks, more contact with free people, greater chances for hiring out, manumission, and creating mixed Afro-Atlantic cultures. On plantations (Chesapeake, Southern Atlantic coast) slavery was chattel slavery on a large scale: concentrated field labor under gang or task systems to grow export crops, strict slave codes, higher mortality, and tighter control that limited autonomy. Both settings produced resistance (overt rebellions, covert work slowdowns, maroon communities, cultural survival like Gullah), but opportunities and daily experiences differed sharply. For the AP exam, link this to causes/effects of slavery (CED Topic 2.6 Learning Objectives F & G) and use terms like chattel slavery, plantation system, task system, and slave codes. Review the Topic 2.6 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
Why did European demand for colonial goods lead to more slavery?
European demand for colonial goods (sugar, tobacco, rice, indigo) made large plantations extremely profitable. To meet rising demand, colonists expanded the plantation system—which needed lots of steady, controllable labor. Fewer Europeans wanted indentured servitude, and land was abundant, so planters turned to the Atlantic slave trade for a large, cheap workforce. That shift created economies of scale: more land + export markets = more enslaved labor. Over time chattel slavery and slave codes legally enforced lifelong, hereditary bondage, locking the labor system in place (CED KC-2.2.II.A and II.B). For AP prep, remember these keywords (Atlantic slave trade, Middle Passage, plantation system, indentured servants, chattel slavery) and use them in short-answer/DBQ responses. Study this topic guide for a focused review (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and try practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
I don't understand how enslaved people could maintain their gender systems and religion when they were treated so badly
It was brutal, but enslaved people used both covert and overt strategies to preserve gender roles and religion. Families and kinship networks were central: people formed marriage-like bonds, raised children, and passed down gendered labor expectations and social roles despite forced separations (CED KC-2.2.II.C). In places with the task system (more autonomy over work) or urban port communities, people had time and space to maintain household roles and religious life. Religion survived through syncretism—mixing African spiritual practices with Christianity (e.g., ring shouts, early Gullah culture) —and through secret meetings, Sunday gatherings, and maroon communities that practiced African-derived beliefs. Laws (slave codes) tried to stop these ties, but informal networks, resistance (including revolts and escape), and even limited manumission undermined those controls. This topic shows up on SAQs/DBQs and long essays; review the Topic 2.6 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).
What were the long-term effects of the strict racial laws that prohibited interracial relationships?
Those strict racial laws—the slave codes that banned interracial relationships and made a child’s status follow the mother—had big, long-term effects. Legally they hardened a racial caste: they turned chattel slavery into a hereditary, race-based system and made mixed-race children legally Black and often enslaved. Socially and culturally, the laws normalized white supremacy, stigmatized cross-racial families, and reduced legal paths to manumission or property rights for people of African descent. Politically and legally, they set precedents for later anti-miscegenation and segregation laws (Jim Crow), helping institutionalize racial inequality in schooling, voting, and labor. Economically, they contributed to intergenerational poverty by denying rights and mobility. For AP exams, you can use these cause–effect links (legal codes → racialized slavery → long-term social/ legal inequality) in DBQs/LEQs on slavery’s effects. For review, see the Topic 2.6 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-us-history/unit-2/slavery-british-colonies/study-guide/h2ezjfgaQaItQZybcxyf) and try practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-us-history).